US ex-cop pleads guilty to 13 murders, rapes

A US former policeman dubbed the “ Golden State Killer ” pleaded guilty to 13 murders Monday , as well as confessing to dozens of rapes , robberies and kidnappings , drawing a line under a sadistic crime spree that terrorized California for two decades .

Joseph DeAngelo Jr . admitted to being the notorious killer and rapist who stalked the state during the 1970 s and 1980 s , as the appalling details of his crimes were read out at a plea hearing held in Sacramento .

“ The scope of Joseph DeAngelo ’ s crime spree is simply staggering , ” prosecutor Thien Ho told the makeshift courtroom – a university ballroom converted to allow victims to attend while social distancing .

“ Each time he escaped , slipping away silently into the night, leaving communities terrified , ” Ho added .

A frail - looking DeAngelo , 74 , wheeled in wearing an orange jumpsuit and a clear face shield , rasped simply “ Yes , ” “ No , ” “ Guilty ” and “ I admit ” to the judge ’ s questions , as he consented to the terms of the plea deal .

Prosecutor Amy Holliday said the state was prepared to remove the death penalty and secure 11 consecutive life terms without parole for the former cop and Vietnam veteran .

DeAngelo was arrested in 2018 , three decades after the “ Golden State Killer” had last struck . The manhunt finally ended after investigators successfully matched DNA evidence from crime scenes with a family genealogy database used by his relatives .

He was initially charged with only the 1978 murders of Brian and Katie Maggiore , a newlywed couple who were shot dead in Rancho Cordova , a Sacramento suburb , while walking their dog . At the time , he entered no plea .

But prosecutor Ho said DeAngelo ’ s crimes encompassed “ 13 known murders and almost 50 rapes, ” as well as dozens of robberies .

The statute of limitations for the rapes have expired, but all offences were read out by prosecutors in a hearing that stretched over seven grisly hours .

In one case, the judge heard how DeAngelo had forced a victim to orally copulate him by threatening to cut off the ear of her baby boy .